Phantasmal (Item Power)

Phantasmal
Item Power
Cost	1,500
Required Spellbooks
Valid Items	Sword Mace Axe Bow Staff Wand
Effect
Weapon	Illusion Damage
Availability
Create Artifact Treasure Merchant The Gift

"Phantasmal" is an Item Power associated with the Sorcery Realm. It may be imbued on most of the Magical Weapons useable by Heroes via Create Artifact. "Phantasmal" causes the weapon to deliver Illusion Damage. Some of the 250 premade Items possess this power, and these can be found as Treasure, or more likely, offered by a Merchant.

Effect

"Phantasmal" weapons have been enchanted to inhabit the ether bordering the realities of Arcanus and Myrror. Most creatures of Sorcery and Death manifest partly in this medium, and in order to deflect a "Phantasmal" attack, the target must be able to see with their eyes.

This item power causes the hero to deliver armor-ignoring Illusion Damage during the type of attack for which the host weapon is designed. These attack types are, respectively:

• Bow:  Ranged Missile Attack
• Staff:  Ranged Magical Attack
• Mace, Sword:  Melee
• Axe:  Melee and  Thrown Attack (if applicable)

An Illusionary Attack ignores the  Defense rating of any creature lacking Illusions Immunity. Unless this ability is present, the illusion even slices through Missile and Magic Immunity.

Strategy

"Phantasmal" is among the strongest item enchantments, being one of several that enable a Hero to clear an enemy's defenses.

Comparison to Lightning

"Phantasmal" has a somewhat smaller range of creatures it may threaten due to the distribution of Illusions Immunity. Its effect in cases where it applies, however, is disastrous for the target— particularly for units that were leaning on Missile or Magic Immunity, which "Lightning" cannot penetrate.

Comparison to Chaos

"Phantasmal" is more limited in scope, but then again, the Hero's potential damage is higher because the power preserves other assets like the hero's full  Attack strength and  To Hit bonuses he may have acquired through experience or gear. If both are present on a weapon, Chaos completely overrides Phantasmal.

Only one Hero has no use whatsoever for this Item Power, with her default Illusionary Attack:

Aerie the Illusionist

Since the Power overlaps with the Armor-Piercing Ability so often, it's generally not worthwhile to supply Roland, Mortu, or Warrax with a "Phantasmal" weapon, either. Its base Casting Cost happens to be equal to the most expensive global enchantment spell in the game. And in spite of the time and expense there are still a few opponents, such as the hard-hitting Death Knights or nigh-invincible Sky Drake, where it will fail you, so unfortunately, it cannot be your only trump card.

On the other hand, "Phantasmal" weapons turn a run-of-the-mill hero into an incredibly dangerous hero, and are an excellent asset to have in the highest-level battles.

Acquisition

Create Artifact

Main article: Item Crafting

With 6, "Phantasmal" may be added to Magical Weapons of your own design through Create Artifact. Making strong Items through this spell is expensive and time-consuming, and creating this enchantment is a particularly serious investment. The Artificer and Runemaster Retorts reduce the Casting Cost and time required.

Casting Cost Structure for "Phantasmal"

Base	Runemaster	Artificer	Both
1,500	1,125	750	375

Overland

Main article: Magical Items in Treasure

The game data files contain 250 pre-defined Items. Of these, nine are "Phantasmal". This power causes a premade Item to demand that the Wizard have particular Spellbooks in order to appear in Treasure, and the requirements are irregular. "Phantasmal" Items tend to be very heavily-restricted and seldom appear unless a Merchant happens by your Fortress.

There are three different ways by which you can acquire one of these pre-defined Items:

• By winning a difficult Encounter.
• By purchasing it from a Merchant, a random petitioner.
• As result of a Random Event called "The Gift".

It is often better to acquire items in this way, as it means you do not need to spend any time or  Mana to create them. Still, Items found through these means are in no way guaranteed to exactly suit your needs.

The table below lists the pre-defined Items with this power.

Premade Items with "Phantasmal"
	Item	Attributes				Realm Powers		Required Ranks
3700	Gabriels Axe	6	2			Holy Avenger	Phantasmal			3	6
8200	Staff of Superiority	20				Mind Storm x4 Phantasmal	Chaos		6	6
Merchant Only
	Item	Attributes				Realm Powers		Required Ranks
4950	World Ender	4				Destruction Phantasmal	Chaos		6	5	6
4950	Orc Smasher	4				Destruction Phantasmal	Chaos		6	5	6
5400	Phantastic Axe	6				Destruction Phantasmal	Chaos		6	5	6
3800	Wand of Doom					Destruction Magic Immunity	Death Phantasmal	5	3	6	5
3700	Sword of Pendulum					Vampiric Phantasmal	Lightning Power Drain	5	5	4	6
5100	The Master Crossbow					Destruction Phantasmal	Chaos Power Drain	6	5	4	6
5200	Blade of Blood					Vampiric Haste	Lightning Phantasmal	5	5	6	7